Gregory was suspended for the entire 2017 season after another violation of the substance abuse policy

The Dallas Cowboys may soon get a boost to their defensive line. Suspended defensive end Randy Gregory will submit his reinstatement application on Thursday, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.

#Cowboys suspended DE Randy Gregory, who recently spent more than 6 weeks in intensive drug and alcohol rehab in addition to counseling, will submit his application for reinstatement to the @NFL tomorrow, sources say. 60 days from now is mid-July — right before training camp.

Gregory was the Cowboys' second-round pick in 2015 but has been unable to stay on the field for various reasons throughout his short time in the league. Expected to be one of the top handful of picks in the draft, Gregory slipped to the tail end of the second round after failing a combine drug test and sparking concerns about off-field issues. He began his NFL career in the league's drug testing program.

Gregory flashed talent in his first NFL game but also suffered an injury in that contest. He missed the next four weeks and returned to play the rest of the year but did not record a sack. That offseason, Gregory was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Before that suspension had even begun, Gregory failed another test and was suspended for 10 additional games.

Before returning from that second suspension, it was announced that Gregory had failed another test and was facing a year-long suspension. That suspension was not yet in effect by the time he became eligible to return from his four- and 10-game bans, however, so he played in the final two games of the 2016 season, recording one sack. It was thought that Gregory might remain eligible for the playoffs, but instead the league held his hearing prior to Dallas' first playoff game and Gregory's ban was instituted immediately. He sat out the 2016 playoffs as well as the entire 2017 season.